Wire: With Combat Over, US Troops Battle in Baghdad

Off the Wire:

WASHINGTON, Sept. 5, 2010 -- Newswire services this evening reported that just days after President Barack Obama touted the end of U.S. combat operations and Iraq's ability to defend itself, American troops found themselves battling heavily armed militants assaulting an Iraqi military headquarters in the center of Baghdad on Sunday.

The fighting killed 12 people and wounded dozens, AP said.

It was the first exchange of fire involving U.S. troops in Baghdad since the Aug. 31 deadline for formally ending the combat mission, and it showed that American troops remaining in the country are still being drawn into the fighting.

The attack also made plain the kind of lapses in security that have left Iraqis wary of the U.S. draw-down and distrustful of the ability of Iraqi forces now taking up ultimate responsibility for protecting the country.

Sunday's hour-long assault was the second in as many weeks on the facility, the headquarters for the Iraqi Army's 11th Division, pointing to the failure of Iraqi forces to plug even the most obvious holes in their security.

The number of U.S. troops has fallen from a high of 170,000 to just under 50,000 this August; all U.S. troops must be out of Iraq by 2012, AP noted.

(Report from newswire sources.)

Source.

Wire: In Iraq, the War's Name has Changed but the War Remains the Same

Off the Wire:

Operation Iraqi Freedom is now Operation New Dawn

WASHINGTON, Sept. 2, 2010 -- Newswire services yesterday reported that even as President Barack Obama was announcing the end of combat in Iraq, American soldiers were sealing off a northern village as their Iraqi partners raided houses and arrested dozens of suspected insurgents.

The Associated Press noted that while the U.S. has reduced number of troops and the White House has re-branded the mission, the operation in Hawija was a reminder that U.S. forces are still engaged in hunting down and killing al-Qaida militants and may have to use lethal force to defend themselves against attacks.

That reality was front and center at a change-of-command ceremony in one of Saddam Hussein's former palaces outside Baghdad that the American military now uses as its headquarters. Officials warned of a tough road ahead as the U.S. moves into the final phase of the 7 1/2-year war.

Of paramount concern is Iraqi leaders' continued bickering, six months after parliamentary elections, over forming a new government -- a political impasse that could further endanger stability and fuel a diminished but still dangerous insurgency.

"Iraq still faces a hostile enemy who is determined to hinder progress," Gen. Lloyd Austin, the newly installed commander of the just under 50,000 U.S. troops still in Iraq, told the swelling crowd that was clad in military fatigues and political suits. "Make no mistake, our military forces here and those of the Iraqi nation remain committed to ensuring that our friends in Iraq succeed."

{. . .}

The remaining U.S. forces in Iraq would be "as combat ready, if need be, as any in our military," Biden said, flanked by Defense Secretary Robert Gates and Joint Chiefs Chairman Adm. Mike Mullen for the 75-minute ceremony, which also changed the U.S. mission's name from "Operation Iraqi Freedom" to "Operation New Dawn."

AP said that three years ago, about 170,000 U.S. troops were in Iraq. Of those who remain, fewer than 10 percent -- or 4,500 -- are special forces who will regularly go on raids and capture terrorists, albeit alongside Iraqi troops.

(Report from newswire sources.)

Source.

Wire: 21 US Servicemembers Killed in 48 Hours in Afghanistan

Off the Wire:

WASHINGTON, Aug. 31, 2010 -- Newswire services this afternoon reported that 21 U.S. servicemembers have been killed in Afghanistan since Friday, updating earlier stories reporting that 19 U.S. servicemembers were killed in 72 hours there.

The UK Telegraph reported that a series of bomb attacks badly mauled U.S. troops in eastern and southern Afghanistan in the past 48 hours.

The death toll among in the NATO-led coalition has reached 484 this year and is predicted to far surpass 2009’s total of 521, the Telegraph said.

(Report from newswire sources.)

Source.

Wire: 19 US Servicemembers Killed in 72 Hours in Afghanistan

Off the Wire:

WASHINGTON, Aug. 31, 2010 -- Newswire services this morning reported that five U.S. troops were killed in southern and eastern Afghanistan on Tuesday in fighting that has left 19 servicemembers dead since Saturday.

The Associated Press reported that in Tuesday's attacks, NATO said four troops were killed by a roadside bomb in eastern Afghanistan, while a fifth died in a battle with insurgents in the country's south. No other details were given.

The deaths bring this month's total to 55, including a Marine killed in fighting in the volatile southern province of Helmand on Friday whose death was not announced until Monday night. That is still fewer than the 66 killed in July, the deadliest month for U.S. troops in Afghanistan since the 2001 invasion.

(Report from newswire sources.)

Source.

Wire: Under Obama, US Troop Deaths Double in Afghanistan

Off the Wire:

WASHINGTON, March 27, 2010 -- Newswire services this morning reported that the number of U.S. troops killed in Afghanistan has roughly doubled in the first three months of 2010 compared to the same period last year.

The Associated Press reported that those deaths have been accompanied by a dramatic spike in the number of wounded, with injuries more than tripling in the first two months of the year and trending in the same direction based on the latest available data for March.

U.S. officials have warned that casualties are likely to rise even further as the Pentagon completes its deployment of 30,000 additional troops to Afghanistan and sets its sights on the Taliban's home base of Kandahar province, where a major operation is expected in the coming months.

[. . .]

In total, 57 U.S. troops were killed here during the first two months of 2010 compared with 28 in January and February of last year, an increase of more than 100 percent, according to Pentagon figures compiled by The Associated Press. At least 20 American service members have been killed so far in March, an average of about 0.8 per day, compared to 13, or 0.4 per day, a year ago.

The steady rise in combat deaths has been widely ignored by mainstream media outlets and generated less public reaction than the spike in casualties last summer and fall.

(Report from newswire sources.)

Source.

Wire: 1/3 of All US Casualties in 8-Year Afghan War Have Occurred Since Obama Ordered Escalation

Off the Wire:

WASHINGTON, Feb. 24, 2010 -- Newswire services this morning carried few if any reports of the rising American death toll in Afghanistan. However, the CNS news service reported that more than 300 U.S. soldiers have died in the region since May 15, 2009, the day when the first major wave of new troops ordered by President Barack Obama arrived in the country.

The 308 U.S. casualties in Afghanistan since then account for about a third of the total of 920 U.S. casualties in the eight-year war.

Of the 308 soldiers who have died since mid-May 2009, 287 were killed by enemy action, according to a CNSNews.com database of all casualties in the Afghanistan theatre of war.

The southern provinces of Helmand and Kandahar located along the Afghan border with Pakistan have been the deadliest regions for U.S. soldiers since President Obama's escalation in U.S. forces in the region began.

Approximately 81 U.S. soldiers have died in combat in Helmand and 58 in Kandahar, for a total of 139 in those two provinces. That is about 45 percent of the U.S. casualties in Afghanistan since May 15 of last year.

On Feb. 17, 2009, President Obama ordered the deployment of 17,000 additional troops to Afghanistan. The main body of those troops arrived in Kandahar on May 15, 2009.

In December 2009, Obama stepped up his surge with 30,000 more troops, bringing the U.S. military presence in Afghanistan to more than 100,000.

Last year was the deadliest for American soldiers since the U.S.-led military effort in Afghanistan began in October 2001.

The CNS database of Afghanistan war casualties is derived from official U.S. Defense Department casualty reports, but also includes information from reports in the news media.

CNS is parented by the Media Research Center, a media watchdog organization.

(Report from newswire sources.)

Wire: 1 Dead in Shooting at Luke Air Force Base

Off the Wire:

WASHINGTON, Feb. 23, 2010 -- Newswire services this morning reported that a shooting and fatal car crash on Luke Air Force Base in Litchfield, Ariz., have left one person dead and another injured.

FOX News said that a security forces officer reportedly tried to talk to two men inside a car, previously reported stolen and then driven through a gate at the base, according to Officer Karen Gerardo, the public information officer at the Glendale Police Department.

When the officer got out of his car to try to make contact with the two men, the car drove directly at him. The officer shot at the car, which then crashed, said Gerardo.

One of the occupants of the vehicle was killed. His cause of death has not been determined.

The other person in the car was injured and transported to a hospital.

Investigators do not suspect terrorism, said Gerardo.

(Report from newswire sources.)

Wire: Probe Urged Into Camp Lejeune Toxic Water

Off the Wire:

WASHINGTON, Feb. 19, 2010 -- Newswire services this morning reported that a North Carolina congressman said Thursday that he wants an investigation into reports that levels of a cancer-causing chemical in tap water at a Marine Corps base were downplayed and then omitted from official documents.

The Associated Press reported that Democratic Rep. Brad Miller has called for the probe by his House science subcommittee Thursday -- a day after AP reported on new documents that indicate massive fuel leaks at Camp Lejeune and high concentrations of benzene found in a water well there in 1984.

"I am just disbelieving of their failure to act. It may have been worse than a failure to act. They may have acted to minimize or prevent the risk from being disclosed," Miller told the Associated Press on Thursday. "It is hard to imagine they would let this go on. There was too much information that they had to have consciously disregarded."

Benzene, a carcinogen, is a natural part of crude oil and gasoline. Drinking water containing high levels of it can cause vomiting, dizziness, sleepiness, convulsions and death. Long-term exposure damages bone marrow, lowers the number of red blood cells, and can cause anemia and leukemia, according to the EPA.

In 1984, an environmental contractor found benzene at 380 parts per billion at a well near a fuel farm. When a draft report was turned in, the level was changed to 38 parts per billion. The company's final report on the well, issued in 1994, did not mention the benzene.

The Marine Corps had been warned nearly a decade earlier about the dangerously high levels of benzene, which was traced to massive leaks from fuel tanks at the base on the North Carolina coast. The benzene was discovered as part of a broader, ongoing probe into that contamination.

Rep. John D. Dingell, D-Mich., the Chair Emeritus of the House Energy and Commerce Committee, said the Marines and their families "deserve to know exactly what was in the water."

AP said health officials believe as many as 1 million people may have been exposed to tainted water at the base before the wells closed two decades ago.

(Report from newswire sources.)

Wire Update: 5 Five Muslim Soldiers Arrested at Fort Jackson in Poisoning Attempt

Off the Wire:

WASHINGTON, Feb. 19, 2010 -- Newswire services this morning updated reports that the U.S. Army is investigating allegations that soldiers were attempting to poison the food supply at Fort Jackson in South Carolina.

CBN News reported that five Muslim soldiers were arrested just before Christmas. It is unclear whether the men are still in custody. The five were part of the Arabic Translation program at the base.

A source with intimate knowledge of the investigation, which is ongoing, told CBN News investigators suspect the "Fort Jackson Five" may have been in contact with the group of five Washington, DC area Muslims that traveled to Pakistan to wage jihad against U.S. troops in December. That group was arrested by Pakistani authorities, also just before Christmas.

Coming as it does on the heels of November's Fort Hood jihadist massacre, this news has major implications.

This is a developing story.

(Report from newswire sources.)

Related: Wire: Army Investigates Attempt to Poison Soldiers at Fort Jackson

Source: CBN Exclusive: Five Muslim Soldiers Arrested at Fort Jackson in South Carolina

Wire: Army Investigates Attempt to Poison Soldiers at Fort Jackson

Off the Wire:

Sources: Suspects are Muslim and were part of U.S. military Arabic translation program

WASHINGTON, Feb. 18, 2010 -- Newswire services this evening reported that the U.S. Army is investigating allegations that soldiers were attempting to poison the food supply at Fort Jackson in South Carolina.

The ongoing probe began two months ago, Chris Grey, a spokesman for the Army’s Criminal Investigation Division, according to a report by Fox News.

The Army is taking the allegations “extremely seriously,” Grey said, but so far, "there is no credible information to support the allegations."

The suspects were part of an Arabic translation program called "09 Lima" and use Arabic as their first language, two sources told Fox News. Another military source said they were Muslim.

Grey would not confirm or deny the sources’ information.

(Report from newswire sources.)

Wire: Biden Says Iraq War Wasn't Worth It

Off the Wire:

WASHINGTON, Feb. 14, 2010 -- Newswire services today reported that Vice President Joe Biden says the Iraq war hasn't been worth its "horrible price."

He claims the war was mishandled from the outset and that the U.S. took its eye off the ball. As a result, he says the U.S. was left in a more dangerous position in Afghanistan.

Biden told NBC's "Meet the Press" that the war also has cost the United States support from other nations.

Earlier this week, Biden stated on CNN's Larry King Live that "Iraq could be [the Obama] administration's greatest achievement."

Responding to Biden's CNN comments, Republican Sen. Jim Inhofe of Oklahoma, a member of the Armed Services Committee, said you cannot oppose the surge and then claim it for your legacy.

"When Joe Biden was in the Senate and Obama was in the Senate, they authored and were the chief architect of the resolution opposing the surge," he said.

The vice president also took credit for the troop drawdown.

"You're going to see 90,000 American troops come marching home by the end of the summer," he said. "You're going to see a stable government in Iraq that is actually moving toward a representative government."

But the drawdown was negotiated in the Status of Forces Agreement before the Obama administration took office.

Then Senator Joe Biden said in 2002: "We have no choice but to eliminate the threat. This is a guy who is an extreme danger to the world."

(Report from newswire sources.)

Wire: Forces Start Major Afghan Offensive, 3 US Troops Killed in South

Off the Wire:

WASHINGTON, Feb. 13, 2010 -- Newswire services this morning reported that thousands of U.S. Marines and Afghan soldiers stormed the Taliban stronghold of Marjah by air and ground Saturday, meeting only scattered resistance.

The Associated Press reported that the massive offensive was aimed at establishing Afghan government authority over the biggest southern town under militant control and breaking the Taliban grip over a wide area of their southern heartland.

Media outlets focused on conflicting news that either none or light coalition casualties had been reported more than 12 hours after the initial airborne assault, but buried the grim news that NATO said three U.S. soldiers were killed Saturday in a bombing elsewhere in southern Afghanistan.

AP noted that at least 20 insurgents were reported killed in the Helmand operation, said Gen. Sher Mohammad Zazai, the commander of Afghan forces in the region. Troops have recovered Kalashnikov rifles, heavy machine guns and grenades from 11 insurgents captured so far.

The long-awaited assault on Marjah is the biggest offensive since the 2001 U.S.-led invasion of Afghanistan and is a major test of a new NATO strategy focused on protecting civilians. The attack is also the first major combat operation since President Barack Obama ordered 30,000 U.S. reinforcements here in December to try to turn the tide of the war.

[. . .]

Lt. Col. Brian Christmas, commander of the 3rd Battalion, 6th Marines, said U.S. troops faced sustained gunbattles in four areas of the town, including the western suburb of Sistani where India Company faced "some intense fighting." To the east, Kilo Company was inserted by helicopter but was then "significantly engaged" as the Marines fanned out from the landing zone.

But the greatest threat came from the extensive network of mines, homemade bombs and booby traps that ground forces encountered as soon as they crossed a major major canal into the town's northern entrance.

Insurgents appeared to have withdrawn from their frontline positions but left boobytraps and explosives in their abandoned positions and in the network of canals built by the Americans in the 1950s and 1960s. Marines safely set off numerous bombs, as the sound of strong detonations reverberated through the dusty streets.

[. . .]

Marine commanders had said they expected between 400 to 1,000 insurgents — including more than 100 foreign fighters — to be holed up in Marjah. The town of 80,000 people, about 360 miles (610 kilometers) southwest of Kabul, is the linchpin of the militants' logistical and opium-smuggling network.

The offensive, code-named "Moshtarak," or "Together," was described as the biggest joint operation of the Afghan war, with 15,000 troops involved, including some 7,500 troops fighting in Marjah. The government says Afghan soldiers make up at least half of the offensive's force.

Once Marjah is secured, NATO hopes to rush in aid and restore public services in a bid to win support among the estimated 125,000 people who live in the town and surrounding villages. The Afghans' ability to restore those services is crucial to the success of the operation and to prevent the Taliban from returning.

See links below for details.

(Report from newswire sources.)

Sources:
US, Afghan troops sweep into Taliban stronghold
Coalition Forces Launch Massive Assault on Major Taliban Stronghold
U.S. Marines spearhead major Afghanistan offensive

Wire: 5 Americans Wounded in Attack at US Base in Afghanistan

Off the Wire:

WASHINGTON, Feb. 11, 2010 -- Newswire services today reported that a suicide bomber wearing an Afghan border policeman's uniform blew himself up Thursday at a U.S. base near the Pakistani frontier, wounding five Americans, an Afghan official said.

The spokesman for Paktia province, Roullah Samoun, said the attack occurred after sundown at a U.S. facility in the Dand aw Patan district in eastern Afghanistan, about 35 miles (70 kilometers) east of Gardez, according to an Associated Press report.

AP said the spokesman did not identify the base by name or say what kind personnel are stationed there.

A U.S. spokesman, Lt. Col. Todd Vician, says U.S. officials have a report that some Americans were wounded in an incident, but he had no further details.

On Dec. 30 a Jordanian believed to be a double agent blew himself up at a CIA base in another border province, Khost, killing seven agency employees and a Jordanian intelligence officer.

The attack reported Thursday occurred about 400 miles (640 kilometers) northeast of the Taliban town of Marjah, which is under siege by U.S. and Afghan troops.

(Report from newswire sources.)

Wire: Iran Now "Nuclear State" Says Ahmadinejad

In Tehran, pro-regime supporters shout slogans while a caricature of U.S. President Barack Obama joins a sea of Iranian flags, February 11, 2010.

Off the Wire:

WASHINGTON, Feb. 11, 2010 -- Newswire services this morning reported that President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad said Iran has produced highly enriched nuclear material in defiance of the West, as his country on Thursday marked the anniversary of its 1979 Islamic revolution.

Iran is now a "nuclear state" Ahmadinejad announced this morning.

The French news agency AFP reported that Ahmadinejad said, "The head of the atomic energy organisation said the first stock of 20 percent fuel was produced and delivered to scientists." in a speech at Tehran's Azadi [Freedom] Square before a crowd of hundreds of thousands.

AFP, however, also noted that a restricted document of the International Atomic Energy Agency which monitors Iran's nuclear work revealed on Thursday that the country would produce its first batch of higher enriched uranium "within a few days."

IAEA chief Yukiya Amano wrote in the one-page report that Iran had informed agency inspectors that it had "begun to feed the low-enriched uranium (LEU) into one cascade [of uranium-enriching] centrifuges" at its plant in Natanz.

Iran to produce higher enriched uranium in days: IAEA

"They were also told that it was expected that the facility would begin to produce up to 20 percent enriched [uranium] within a few days," according to Amano.

The IAEA head added that "it should be noted that there is currently only one cascade installed in [Natanz] that is capable of enriching the LEU up to 20 percent."

See links below for details.

(Report from newswire sources.)

Sources:
Iran is now a 'nuclear state' says Ahmadinejad as thousands take to the streets
Ahmadinejad: Iran has produced high grade uranium
Iran proclaims new success in uranium enrichment

Wire: White House Says Obama Critics Helping al-Qaeda

Off the Wire:

"Critics are ... clueless."

WASHINGTON, Feb. 9, 2010 -- Newswire services this morning reported that in an opinion column published in USA Today, John Brennan -- Assistant to the President and Deputy National Security Advisor for Homeland Security and Counterterrorism -- responded to critics of the Obama administration's counterterrorism policies by saying "Politically motivated criticism and unfounded fear-mongering only serve the goals of al-Qaeda."

ABC News reported that in the oped, titled "'We need no lectures': Administration disrupts terrorists’ plots, takes fight to them abroad," Brennan writes that politics "should never get in the way of national security. But too many in Washington are now misrepresenting the facts to score political points, instead of coming together to keep us safe."

The administration op-ed is in response to a USA Today editorial entitled "National security team fails to inspire confidence; Officials’ handling of Christmas Day attack looks like amateur hour."

Brennan provides a detailed defense of the administration's handling of failed Christmas Day bomber Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab whom, he says, was "thoroughly interrogated and provided important information."

He suggests that many critics are hypocritical and clueless.

See link below for details.

(Report from newswire sources.)

Source: WH: Some Critics 'Serving the Goals of al Qaeda'*

Wire: Senator Blocks All Obama Nominees Amid Air Force Tanker Feud

Off the Wire:

WASHINGTON, Feb. 5, 2010 -- Newswire services today reported that a U.S. Senator has taken the step of blocking more than 70 of President Barack Obama's nominees amid a dispute over a U.S. Air Force tanker deal, Senate aides said Friday.

French news agency AFP reported that Senator Richard Shelby, the top Republican on the Senate Banking Committee, placed a blanket "hold" in part because of the feud pitting Airbus parent EADS and its partner Northrop Grumman against Boeing, his office said.

The U.S. Senate frequently approves non-controversial nominees without a formal roll-call vote, with a "unanimous consent" determination that can be blocked by just one senator, requiring a time-consuming process and 60-votes in the 100-seat chamber to overcome.

Shelby "has placed holds on several pending nominees due to unaddressed national security concerns," his spokesman, Jonathan Graffeo, said in a statement that cited the tanker dispute as a key reason for the move.

The European Aeronautic Defence and Space Company and its rival Boeing have been locked in a long-running rivalry to win a 35-billion-dollar contract for a fleet of new aerial refueling tankers.

The EADS/Northrop partnership would build the airplane in Shelby's home state of Alabama but have accused the Pentagon of favoring Boeing in a draft request for proposal and warned they may withdraw from the competition.

"Nearly 10 years after the U.S. Air Force announced plans to replace the aging tanker fleet, we still do not have a transparent and fair acquisition process to move forward," said Graffeo.

"The Department of Defense must recognize that the draft Request for Proposal needs to be significantly and substantively changed," said the spokesman.

Shelby is also "deeply concerned" that Obama may block the construction of an FBI center in Alabama to test improvised explosive devices -- the "roadside bombs" that have killed hundreds of U.S. soldiers in Iraq and Afghanistan.

"This decision impedes the U.S. military, the intelligence community, and federal law enforcement personnel in their missions to exploit and analyze intelligence information critical to fighting terrorism and ensuring American security worldwide," said Graffeo.

(Report from newswire sources.)

Wire: 3 US Troops Killed, 1 Wounded Inside Pakistan

Off the Wire:

WASHINGTON, Feb. 3, 2010 -- Newswire services this morning reported that three U.S. soldiers traveling with Pakistan security force members were killed Wednesday and one wounded in a roadside bombing in northwest Pakistan that also injured dozens of schoolgirls, officials said.

The Associated Press said the soldiers were in the region as part of an unpublicized U.S. mission to train members of the paramilitary Frontier Corps to better fight al-Qaida and Taliban militants, Pakistan's army said.

The U.S. Embassy declined to comment. If the deaths are confirmed by American authorities, they would represent a major victory for militants close to the Afghan border who have been hit hard in recent months by a surge in U.S. missile strikes and a major Pakistani army offensive.

The attack, which killed at least four other people and wounded 70, will draw attention to the presence of U.S. troops on Pakistan soil at a time when anti-American sentiment over perceived violations of sovereignty is running high. U.S. and Pakistani authorities rarely talk about the training program out of fear it could generate a backlash.

AP reported that U.S. troops have been training Pakistan's Frontier Corps since at least 2008.

The training program was never officially announced, AP said.

(Report from newswire sources.)

Wire: Fed, State Dispute Halts US Military Airlifts from Haiti

Off the Wire:

WASHINGTON, Jan. 30, 2010 -- Newswire services this morning reported that the U.S. military has halted flights carrying Haitian earthquake victims to the United States, apparently in a dispute between federal and state governments over medical care costs.

The Associated Press reported that the evacuations were suspended Wednesday, according to Capt. Kevin Aandahl, spokesman for U.S. Transportation Command. The flights were halted a day after Florida Gov. Charlie Crist asked the federal government to help pay for care.

"There were some critical cases that were recommended stateside facility care or follow-up care," Aandahl said Saturday. "As I understand it, there were some states that were unwilling to approve transportation for that follow-up. We can't fly anyone without an accepting hospital on the other end."

The story was first reported by the New York Times.

AP said Aandahl declined to specify which states declined to accept those patients, and he referred further questions to a Pentagon press office, where an after-hours answering service could not accept incoming messages Saturday.

Florida officials said Saturday that they were not aware of any hospital in Florida refusing to take in the patients. However, in a letter Tuesday to Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius, the governor said "Florida's health care system is quickly reaching saturation, especially in the area of high level trauma care."

Crist asked Sebelius to activate the National Disaster Medical System, which is typically used in domestic disasters and pays for victims' care. His letter does not indicate how much victims' care was costing Florida, though he noted the state's health care system was already stretched by the winter tourism season and annual "snowbird" migration.

In a statement Saturday, Crist said Florida has not stopped helping earthquake victims, noting at least 60 Haitian orphans arrived Friday night at Miami International Airport.

The link below for details.

(Report from newswire sources.)

Source: US military airlifts of Haiti quake victims halted

Wire: NATO Forces Kill 4, Wound 6 Afghan Troops

Off the Wire:

WASHINGTON, Jan. 30, 2010 -- Newswire services this morning reported that Afghan officials say NATO troops clashed with their Afghan army allies and called in air strikes, killing four Afghan soldiers and wounding at least six others.

VOA News reported that a Wardak province spokesman, Shahidullah Shahid, says the troops starting shooting each other after a military operation in the area.

The Associated Press reported the Afghan Defense Ministry is condemning the incident and wants those responsible brought to justice after an investigation.

NATO officials say they are investigating the incident and did not provide details.

(Report from newswire sources.)

Wire: 3 Americans Killed in Afghanistan

Off the Wire:

WASHINGTON, Jan. 29, 2010 -- Newswire services this afternoon reported that NATO says two U.S. servicemembers and one U.S. employee have been killed in eastern Afghanistan.

A statement says the deaths occurred Friday but gives no details. It says the incident is under investigation and no further information is available at this time.

At least 29 American deaths have been reported in Afghanistan so far this month. That's double the 14 in all of January last year.

(Report from newswire sources.)